In-game 3D view

The in-game 3D view is a third way to look at your map, alongside the flat 2D view and the live 3D preview. Where the standard 3D preview gives you a fast, stylized read of your terrain, the in-game view gives you a feel for how your island will look in game: ground textures, water and sky, closer to what you get after proc gen in RustEdit. Fly around and inspect your map up close before you ever export it.

You switch to it from the same view toggle you use for 2D and 3D. The three views are all the same map: anything you generate, sculpt or paint shows up in all of them, so the in-game view is just another window onto the island you are already building.

A Crucible Heightmap island in the in-game 3D view, shown from above with Rust ground textures, water and sky for a preview of how the map looks in game

Flying the camera

The in-game view uses a free-fly camera so you can move anywhere on the map:

Move with the standard W, A, S, D keys.
Rise and fall with Q and E.
Look by holding the right mouse button and moving the mouse.
Fly down to ground level to judge scale, sight lines and how a base spot feels, or pull up high for a full overview.

A ground-level player's-eye view across a Crucible Heightmap island in the in-game view, looking over grassy hills toward distant mountains under a Rust sky

These camera keys are why the rest of the app avoids W, A, S, D, Q and E for its default shortcuts (see keyboard shortcuts).

Painting and editing in the view

The in-game view is interactive, not just a camera. You can:

Paint ground textures directly on the terrain, the same splats you paint in the other views, and see them land live as you work.
Sculpt the terrain height with the brush, raising and lowering the land right where you are looking.

An edit you make in the in-game view shows up immediately in the 2D and 3D views (and the reverse), and it all rides into your project saves and exports.

Requirements

The in-game view runs on Windows, like the rest of Crucible Heightmap.
The first time you open it, Crucible downloads the viewer module. This is a one-time setup; after that it opens straight away.

Where it fits

Use the fast 2D and 3D views to block out the big picture: rough in the main island shapes and get a general idea quickly. Then drop into the in-game view to get a truer feel for the map and make finer adjustments to the actual shape and splats, flying the island up close to dial it in. When you are happy, export it for RustEdit.